Chores
by Karu Leonnese
Summary: Lina and Amelia play a little prank on the guys. My first fic in a LOOOONG time. ^.^ And for once, I didn't bash Amelia either! PG cuz G is boring. ^.^ Thanks to Tamayo, Zarla and Kit for inspiration!


Chores  
  
by Karu Leonnese  
  
Notes: This fic is a reaction to reading Zarla's new Slayers fic and Slayers RPing with Tamayo, and then having to do my chores. ....Trust me, the last part was the worst. Anyways, just silliness to take up time while I get my old files from my crappy old comp. At the rate I'm going, I might hafta write them from the screen and then retype EVERYTHING. o.O So until then, enjoy!  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
The scene is a normal one. Our heroes huddled around a table, 'sharing' a meal. That is, Lina and Gourry fighting over anything remotely edible, Amelia trying to calm them down, Xellos bothering Zelgadis, and the chimera trying to pretend he didn't know any of them.  
  
"That fish's mine!" Lina growled, yanking the piece of seafood away from the blond.  
  
"Hey, c'mon Lina! I called it!" Gourry whined.  
  
"All's fair in love, war and food," she retorted, before stuffing the fish in her mouth, while Gourry pouted.  
  
"Can we just talk this out?" Amelia sighed, exasperated.  
  
"Sure, as long as Gourry talks about giving ME the food!" the redhead grinned.  
  
Amelia looked down at her empty plate, which she had eaten hurriedly, in order to keep the food before the duo started attacking her for it.  
  
Zelgadis leaned back into his seat, arms crossed and looking generally angsty and aloof. This provoked a rather annoying grin from Xellos, who sat next to him.  
  
"Aw...whatsamatter Zel-chan?"  
  
Zelgadis sent a glare toward the Mazoku. "Don't call me that."  
  
"Call you what, Zel-chan?"  
  
The shaman growled, but had learned from experience that arguing only fueled the demon further. Not that silence usually worked any better, but it let him keep his diginity a little better.  
  
Fortuneately, this time, luck seemed to be on his side, as Xellos just shrugged and disappeared, leaving the chimera to his thoughts.  
  
The meal progressed as such, and soon the team was ready to leave. Lina shoved Gourry and Zelgadis to the front counter, while she and Amelia went to leave. "You two take care of the bill, okay? We'll wait for you outside."  
  
The blond nodded and Zelgadis sighed, rolling his eyes. The guys went to the counter, ready to shell out the cash for the huge amount of food the group had consumed.  
  
"You do have the money, right Gourry?" Zelgadis asked. Gourry seemed perfectly fine with being left with the bill, but one could never be sure with Gourry.  
  
"Nope. You've got it."  
  
Zelgadis looked at the swordsman, eyes widening. "No I don't. I thought you did."  
  
"Uh oh..."  
  
Both returned to the table, knowing full well that the girls were gone. Sitting down, Zelgadis tried to think, while Gourry tried to make sense of the situation in general.  
  
"You don't think they knew we were broke, didja?" he looked at his friend.  
  
"With Lina, you never can be sure," the other answered, "I've got a plan. I'll wait here, and you go outside and get them. Then you bring them back here or get the money from them and we'll be fine."  
  
Gourry nodded. Who was he to argue with a plan? He got up and left, leaving Zelgadis to wait by himself.  
  
Well, not TOTALLY to himself.  
  
"Poor Zel-chan...left here all alone and in trouble..." the words might have sounded sympathetic, but the tone that came with them told Zelgadis that the speaker was obviously enjoying the situation. "Go away Xellos. I've got no time for you now."  
  
The micheivious priest appeared at the table, phasing into his seat beside the irate shaman. "There's always room for Xellos!"  
  
Zelgadis didn't look at him. "Fruitcake."  
  
Xellos grinned wider, if that was possible. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Zel-chan."  
  
Just then, a very paniked Gourry came back to the table. "Problem...."  
  
Zelgadis leaned his head into the palm of his hand. "What now?"  
  
"Lina and Amelia are gone."  
  
"What do you mean 'they're gone'?!"  
  
Gourry shrugged. "I mean I can't find them. I looked everywhere. They either moved on without us, or they dissapeared."  
  
Zelgadis laid his head on the table, regardless of the fact that his hair was most likely going to remain a permanent fixture there. "This is just perfect..."  
  
Xellos let a small giggle escape. "How interesting!"  
  
***  
  
The new plan was set. It wasn't one Zelgadis was particularly proud of, but he was left with no other option. He and Gourry were going to sneak out.  
  
Xellos was going to stay at the table long enough for the pair to escape, then he would simply phase out again, and they'd be fine. The blue-hued man hated to put Xellos in any kind of position where he head to trust him, but there wasn't really much else to do at this point. If Gourry was right, and the girls had left without them, they had to catch up as quickly as possible, at least to comfront them about their trick. And if they had 'disappeared', then they were probably in danger, though Zelgadis suspected it was the former.  
  
"Ready?" he asked the blond, who nodded. Gourry knew what they were doing wasn't in the right, but he trusted Zel to keep them out of trouble. And they could always come back after they found Lina and Amelia to pay for the meal.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The two walked away from the table and towards the door, trying to lok as nonchalont as possible. As they went to turn the handle and escape, a large form blocked the door from opening.  
  
"And did we forget something?" a gruff voice asked them. It belonged to the restaurant owner, who was much taller than Gourry, which was a feat in itself, as most normal people weren't. This made him even more taller than Zelgadis, who still had his hand on the door handle. As much as he didn't want to admit it, this guy was downright frightening. He looked at the two with an expression almost like a big dog when one comes across its territory.  
  
"Not....not that I know of..." Zel stammered, trying to keep his voice level. He looked at Gourry, who kept his gaze on the chimera. He shrugged.  
  
"Someone's going to pay the bill, correct?" the owner phrased this as a question, a silent dare to have either of them say otherwise.  
  
"Of course..." Zelgadis forced a weak smile, "...our friend there is going to take care of it...he's just um...waiting for a friend before he leaves."  
  
The owner glared at the table, then at Zelgadis, then to Gourry. "And is this friend of yours invisible, by any chance?"  
  
Simutaniously, both the heroes turned to the table, which sat as devoid of life as a desert, so it seemed to Zelgadis.  
  
Xellos had disappeared again, finally thinking of the part where he himself might be held accountable for the deed as well. Not that this held any threat to him, as he WAS a Mazoku, but he felt it wasn't worth being a participant. He was much happier being a spectator. Not to mention it would go against his reputation to let a situation like this go by without a hitch.  
  
Zelgadis winced. "Oh @#$%."  
  
***  
  
"Isn't this fun?" Xellos giggled as he floated above Zelgadis and Gourry, laying back in a comfortable manner, hands behind his head, "You two enjoying this as much as I am?"  
  
Zelgadis stifled the urdge to jump up and strangle the Mazoku. "Xellos, this isn't the first time I've said this, and I'm sure it won't be the last. This is ALL. YOUR. FAULT."  
  
Xellos laughed. "I know! Isn't it great?"  
  
The chimera growled, then tried to ignore the preist completely, and focus on the task before them.  
  
Washing dishes. The owner had put them there in order to pay off the debt of the bill. And from how much the group (read: Lina and Gourry) ate on a normal basis, it was going to take quite awhile. And if this fate weren't worse enough, Xellos continued to pop up and bother them, only leaving when someone came in, usually a waiter to dump more dishes onto the already endless pile that lay before the two.  
  
"We're gonna die here!" Gourry sighed, almost a whine, "How long do we have until we're done Zel?"  
  
"It won't be as long as you think," Zelgadis said, trying to pacify the swordsman. Gourry's math skills weren't as they could be, so L-sama only knows how long he thought they were going to work there.  
  
If scrubbing plates weren't bad enough, Zelgadis ran into a rather annoying side problem. Today's special was macaroni and cheese. A particularly sticky macaroni and cheese. The chimera growled again, louder and more frusterated than the first.  
  
Gourry, frowned. He couldn't help but feel giulty that Zel was left to this. He knew that he and Lina had been the main cause of the high cost. So he was completely acceptive of the punishment. But Zel hadn't had more than a few cups of coffee, and certainly didn't deserve this.  
  
"Sorry..." the swordsman offered, looking at him.  
  
Zelgadis didn't answer, as he was much more occupied with chasing Xellos around the kitchen with a large spoon. Xellos was laughing maniacally and floating just out of the chimera's reach.  
  
Gourry blinked.  
  
***  
  
The restaurant owner entered the kitchen, waiting to repremand further his two paycheck-skippers. Once he entered the room however, he noticed they were gone. In their place was an unconcious purple-haired man and a note.  
  
' Dear Mr. Restaurant Owner,  
  
Sorry we couldn't stay, but we had to find our friends. We left someone else to finish up for us. His name is Xellos and he should wake up soon. Zel had to Ra Tilt him to keep him there. Sincerely, Gourry and Zel'  
  
The owner looked at the note, then at the heap on the floor. He shrugged. Work was work.  
  
***  
  
Gourry walked beside Zelgadis as the two tried to find the girls. "You sure that was okay?"  
  
Zelgadis nodded firmly. "The fruitcake deserved it. Now we just need to find Lina and Amelia to 'thank' them for their little joke."  
  
***  
  
Later that week, after they had finally found the girls, sitting comfortably in a nearby inn, waiting for them, the group was again in a restaurant, gobbling up another meal. The girls, their previous joke long forgotten, sat happily munching. The guys, however, remembered the stunt perfectly, and Zelgadis at least had been waiting all the time to get revenge.  
  
"Um...Gourry, can you come here for a second? I need to talk to you," Zelgadis asked, getting up from the table. The blond nodded and followed him away from Lina and Amelia.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
Zel said nothing in reply, merely walking towards the door, then out it, with Gourry following.  
  
Back at the table, Lina finally stopped eating long enough to notice the two gone. "Hey, where'd Zel and Gourry go?"  
  
"They left a little while ago to talk," Amelia answered, before looking up, "You don't suppose they..."  
  
Lina took a bite out of her chicken leg. "Of course not! They can't still be holding a grudge on that!"  
  
Just then, a mildly-annoyed Xellos phased in. Amelia looked at him. "Why, Xellos-san! We haven't seen you since that night last week!"  
  
Seeing the two girls alone in the restaurant, Xellos returned to his normal cheery smile. "I think you guys are in trouble."  
  
"Why?" both asked.  
  
"Do you know where Gourry and Zel-chan are?" he tilted his head, as if to emphasize his point.  
  
"No..." Lina said slowly, their fate finally dawning on her, "Xellos! They didn't leave us here, did they?!"  
  
Xellos patted Lina on the head before replying, then immediately phasing out again, leaving the girls on their own.  
  
"Sore wa himitsu desu..."  
  
~Fin~  
  
A/N: Heh. I just had to write this, even if it was pointless and a waste of time. After such a long hiatus, I needed to be sure I still COULD write anything for one. Plus I was sick of doing dishes. XP...Review please! I really could use some human communication, even if it's just telling me I need to seek help. Believe me, I'm completely aware of this.  
  
Owari!  
  
~Karu ^.~ 


End file.
